Bridget abroad: first time abroad in ten years.

As a follow up to this I also get a lot of flack for wearing crocs 24/7. Comments along the lines of, 'Did I bring any other shoes?', 'Will I ruin the pictures?' are quite frequent. To the neigh sayers I would like to publicly state they’re very comfy, very practical and also work with all outfits (in my humble opinion). The travel hack no one asked for is to purchase them in a children's size and get £10 off, those with big feet should steer clear.

Other wisdom runs along the lines of don’t pack T-shirts when you come away as a future note to self. I don’t wear them at home so why on earth do I need 10 when going abroad. Do I think the fashion demands change in Europe beacuse the weather is one degree hotter? Yes, yes I do. Just don’t pack them. Same goes for dark skirts. When it’s hot weather you won’t wear dark clothing. Don’t be fooled it’s not a great idea.

Final tip from someone who is not well travelled would be to bring mini toiletries. Then if you hop around you have minis to take rather than two litres of SPAR's finest shower gel and anti dandruff shampoo. Oh the glamorous life of travel.

Pretending this is a travel memoir about my time working (ahem volunteering - I wish I was paid) what wisdom would I choose to impart? Today marks the one month point as a resident of Cascais and being absent from the UK, which I think is the longest period I’ve ever ventured from the motherland.

My first observation would be that I spend a lot of time without socks. In present time I am sat on a four hour coach trip to Porto wearing one blue ankle sock. The wearing of one sock is weirder than wearing no socks. I did want to put another sock on but the act of trying to do so while surrounded by people also scared me. For now I am sporting this very sexy unhinged look. The logical explanation behind this is I have blisters on one foot only so the sock cushions the blow when wearing crocs (also controversially stylish). I don’t feel it’s necessary to bless my fellow passengers with a detailed account of my foot situation and inconveniences.